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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

lost in translation

This is the view from my bedroom. Sunrise in Japan. It's a beautiful sight to see every morning. I don't even mind the big green crane {it's a great color green}. We seem so far away from our old life...the normal, everyday things like going to Target is what I miss most. All of us here dream of going Target...just 30 minutes is all I need in there. As I'm writing this, I'm watching Lost in Translation. So many have talked about this movie after coming here and how much they can relate. It's quite entertaining after experiencing Japan.

In order to talk to my cleaning lady, she will type in what she wants to tell me in her little pocket electronic translator/dictionary and then I read it...she was trying to tell me something and the translation came up "I want to give you a bath"...laughter erupted from both of us after she realized what she wrote. The language barrier is the hardest thing here. Before I got here, I really thought most people here spoke English...I was wrong. But a sweet bow from these very kind people makes the language barrier seem not so bad.

I miss the States...I miss so many things that you do and see on a daily basis that I can't wait to do.

Before I know it I will be missing this place. I will wonder why everyone can't be as nice as the Japanese. I will miss the food {even though I haven't acquired a taste for most of the food yet} I will...and that is something I'll crave back in the States. Why do we always want what we don't have? Life is funny that way. Being content is sometimes hard. I always look forward to the next move, the next house instead of enjoying where I am at the moment. Maybe that's my way of coping with the constant moves...knowing there is something new right around the corner. We are in the process of deciding where we will go after here. We get choices of what is available for his next job...and from that we decide what we want. Sometimes we don't have a choice...sometimes we do. The choices were not my ideal {one was Cairo, Egypt...we'll pass on that for now}. It looks like back to DC in the most logical choice but I'm keeping my fingers crossed something will open up in San Diego. I miss Coronado more than ever. I want to go back to the sweet days of walking to dinner and afterwards stopping by Mootime for ice cream. I miss the morning walks on the beach...then stopping by Starbucks. I miss meeting friends for drinks at the Del...I miss bonfires on the beach.

Are you still there?

I'm just talking and hope someone is listening. If you are still there, God bless ya for listening.

Tonight is my night for venting I guess. All three of my kids are in bed asleep...which is nice...but I'm exhausted and trying to stay awake to finish answering emails. I'm so behind on emails and never seem to catch up. I hate that I don't email people back right away...sometimes not at all. I don't like that about me...it's not intentional...the emails that have a quick yes or no answer are easy to return. But when I want to say more than that, I put off writing it until I have more time...and I haven't seemed to find that time. {maybe I should quite writing now and get to work huh?} I vow to get back on track with emails...and blog post {where are the interviews lately?? I know what you are thinking}...

One more thing to tell you before I head off to bed...tonight while cooking dinner {actually looking for marshmallows for smores} I knocked a bottle of olive oil off the shelf in the pantry...it was glass and shattered all over the floor. Olive oil....can you imagine...mixed with glass. How do you get up olive oil? It's a mess...most of the glass is up but the oil is all over the kitchen. And it will be until the morning. Did I mention my mop broke?

I'm off to bed...good morning to you all! Have a good day and if you go to Target, enjoy~

21 comments:

I am on a small forum for military spouses and they all say the same thing about Japan. And when it is time to leave... they are so sad... and they miss it so much when they are gone.

And... I get pretty nostalgic at nighttime, too... so I hear ya. :)

Your post reminded me to appreciate that even though walking through Target often makes me feel completely discontent with my home and I leave mad at the stinkin chain store for lying to me about consumerism, it is only a mile away and I can buy things that temporarily make me feel a little bit better about life. haha. =)

I have to say that you are so brave for moving to the other side of the world, especially when your Husband goes on the ship, as that means that you are alone in a strange country. Something I could do for a visit but not to live. I hope you get your wish and head back to San Diego, I have been there twice and agree that it is such a beautiful place to be. Try to enjoy your time there, my Aunt and Uncle were stationed there back in the '60s but they still talk about it like it was last year, and yes they miss little things from Japan that they can't get in the States.

Having lived in Asia for about 4 years of my life when I was in Middle School and College, I remember the culture shock upon my arrival. Soon it wears off and you begin to love where you live and actually had a hard time coming back to the states when time was up. I still think about Taiwan and Hong Kong on a daily basis and wonder what it would be like to live there again. One day, I can't wait to bring my children back to where I grew up and show them everything.

Enjoy your time there and soak as much up as you can. Enjoy the journey!

Agreed with Anna, you are very brave to be on the other side of the world with your family, alone sometimes when your husband has to be away. Hang in there and remember that time really does fly...and venting does helps. I appreciate your perspective and think that sometimes we Americans can get so jaded...your situation helps remind us to appreciate the little things and never take them for granted.

Just like us Savvy readers are so thankful for all of the awesome things you bring us, I am positive your family is thankful for the sacrifices you make to be a great mom and wife in such an unfamiliar and distant place :)

My son, wife and grandbaby are there :(. When i see the view from there porch i think, wow, will they ever want to leave that? I miss them especially my little grandbaby and hope we will get to visit at least once in th next 3 years.

San Diego misses you too! It's so easy to feel down and overwhelmed when our guys are gone. And I know it is even harder and you feel ever more isolated in Japan. Grab some coffee tomorrow morning and take an extra second to look out and see that beautiful view.

The Del and Mootime will be here waiting for you when you come visit. Oor even better if you move back!

I'm Target obsessed too, obviously. I will seriously ship stuff to you from there. When my grandparents lived in Japan when I was young, we would send them all sorts of normal stuff, most often it was peanut butter. Not kidding about mailing you stuff, let me know.

OH...I remember these feelings. (DH and I were in Iwakuni 20ish years ago, before kids and responsibilities.)

You WILL miss the friendly, helpful people. You will miss the feeling of safety. You will miss the experience...you will have great memories and you really will miss SO much!

I still miss seeing 5 year olds in shorts, when it is 45 degrees, walking the streets alone. I miss cabbies with white gloves, driving cars that have automatically opening doors. ;-) I still miss being "bored" in Japan. (No internet and one military TV station. Ugh!) Now, with two kids in tow, we'd JUMP at the chance for another

Keep the chin up...keep looking forward...ENJOY!(I got a feeling there's a beach in your future, but, for now enjoy that lovely green crain!)

Hi Marsha. I enjoyed reading your latest post. I must admit, that I have the opposite problem; my life is so boring that I wish I could be somewhere else and living a more adventurous life! You and your children are seeing places and experiencing things that not everybody has the opportunity to do. I know it must be hard sometimes, but just try to enjoy it. It sounds like you are doing an awesome job of enjoying it so far! I noticed, via Facebook, that Kenneth Lovell and his family were in Japan for a summer trip about the same time you arrived. Maybe you should contact him on facebook and ask about some places to see, restaurants, etc. ? His wife is Japanese and he lived there for a few years too; they may have a lot of good recommendations for you. Take care and keep enjoying the view!

Oh, I wish I could send you a hug...I am a military wife too, and going through the same things. And I am pregnant to boot, so the emotions are multiplied by a thousand most days. Then the military gives you just enough time to like where you are, just to send you somewhere else. What a life :-) There is nothing like the comfort of home, but here's to hoping that you find your happy medium. Praying for you today, and I am oh so thankful for what you and your family are doing.

It doesn’t happen to me very often, but your blog post made my heart swell. I, too, am living in Japan. Okinawa. It is such a beautiful place and you are so right about the people. I will miss the “safety” of this island… seeing kids ~age 5-6 walking home from school and not a care in the world… it’s just so SAFE compared to the states. But I do miss Target. Oh Lord, how I miss Target. I had to buy my son shoes at the BX yesterday and we had about 4 choices of tennis shoes. (2 he has already had since being here). *sigh*

We lived in Coronado for 3 months in 2003-2004. It was gorgeous. We had no kids then so we lived in a small (200 sq ft) add-on to someone’s garage. Paid $800 but we LOVED it. We actually discussed, before this last deployment, what we would do after this… and I said I wanted to go to Coronado. I always thought it was so neat to see kids riding their bikes to school with their surfboards on the side

My husband is out on the Essex too btw… Thanks for letting me ramble… it really does feel good to “release”. (((hugs))) to you!

You are in good company. We're in Bangkok and have been for 5 years but we're moving back to the states this summer and as much as I miss the ease of Target shopping, I will miss the quirks and charm of Asia. It's hard to translate to those who haven't lived overseas. You are very right that being content is often hard. So here's to living in the moment and appreciating our current surroundings. Karen

I am missing my 'home' so much today and everything that you said resonates with me so much. We were back in Australia for a month Dec/Jan and missed so many things about the US. Now we are back. Today I found out my sister has suffered her second miscarriage (she found out she was pregnant while I was back) and now feel so far and isolated and helpless. Enjoy your view and good luck with your upcoming decisions. Fingers crossed for San Diego for you!

I loved reading your post today and a small glimpse into your life in Japan. I can't image leaving everything that's familiar and moving to a different country. You are very brave! It's an adventure that I'm sure your kids will never forget. Hang in there....

I hear you about being homesick. My son was born in Okinawa and was three before anyone from the family met him... and now we are on Mainland and have another two years. That little guy will be in Kindergarden and have only met his extended family once. I got severely depressed after our visit home and once I realized that... life got much easier. We love Japan, just not the bases.... and the drama the lonely people bring. Stay with those who only bring you joy and avoid that base as much as possible. Looks like you have a great place? That is what keeps me sane here.